Netflix accused of whitewashing in revealing the cast of Fate: The Winx Saga

The Daily Dot

The live-action adaptation of the beloved animated series Winx Club unveiled a teaser and announced a Jan. 22 premiere date. But fans quickly noticed the absence of its Asian and Latina characters. "Netflix was also criticized for changing the name of fan-favorite Flora, not including original character Tecna, and watering down the fashion to fit a gloomier Riverdale or The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina aesthetic," says The Daily Dot's Audra Schroeder. At The Mary Sue, Princess Weekes says it's "disappointing" to see the "whitewashing of Musa and the erasure of Flora. (creator Iginio) Straffi wanted the series to be more diverse, and Flora was designed with Jennifer Lopez in mind, and Musa with Lucy Liu. When the show went to America and there was discussion of the lack of Black characters (and one racist moment in the first season), the character of Aisha was introduced. From what I can see from the casting, the character of Flora has been removed, and Musa’s actress, Elisha Applebaum, does not appear to be East Asian. Aisha, thankfully, is included and is a dark-skinned woman, but this means that rather than an even split of racial and ethnic diversity among the core six, there is now only one major character of color in the cast. There is a good piece of news, Eliot Salt has been cast as a character named Terra, so there will be at least some body diversity in the series. This frustration is part of an already existing frustration of the constant lightening and erasure of characters that has been happening in marketing forever."